Though her talk show ended two years ago, Oprah Winfrey is finally opening up - about Stedman Graham.
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The
59-year-old host/ actress/ mogul, famous for her ability to get people
to share their personal stories on national television, has been
notoriously silent about her relationship with her longtime fiancé even
as she faced gay rumors with her best friend, Gayle King.
But now,
after experiencing self-doubt and nearly suffering a breakdown because
of OWN's bumpy launch, it seems Ms. Winfrey has had a change of heart.
In
an interview with People, Oprah recalls a painful moment when she flew
from her New Orleans movie set to interview Kony 2012 founder, Jason
Russell.
"Jason was talking about having a
nervous breakdown, and I was thinking, 'I have those symptoms,'" she
reveals, adding that it was a few days later during a voice-over
recording session that she reached her breaking point. "I remember
closing my eyes while I was reading. I thought, 'I cannot have another
thing enter my brain.' I needed to pull back."
That may be
easier said than done for someone running a network, returning to the
big screen after a 15-year hiatus, and doing roughly 1 million other
things all at the same time. Enter her fiancé of 21 years, Stedman
Graham.
"He was amasing," Oprah shares. "He
said, 'You can't even think about quitting.'" And while he encouraged
her, he didn't sugarcoat the challenges she faced. Oprah remembers
Stedman's advice verbatim: "You have been in cruise control," he told his longtime love. "It's gonna turn around, but you've gotta do the work."
Apparently,
Stedman has always been the determined type. Describing their first
date 30 years ago, Oprah seems struck by his perseverance. "We went
waterskiing," she explains. "Stedman tried 28 times and wouldn't give
up. I thought, 'What is wrong with him? Good lord, this is exhausting!'
He would not quit."
